Services
Cavity Treatment
Early detection of cavities is essential to halt decay and stop the loss of tooth structure. The earlier cavities are detected, the smaller and stronger the fillings used to close them will be.
With growing concerns over mercury, the days of silver amalgam fillings are coming to an end. Our dentists use natural looking, tooth-colored composite resins to fill cavities caused by tooth decay. These sophisticated resins are strong, esthetically pleasing, do not discolor over time, and have similar expansion and contraction rates to normal tooth structure. We offer local anesthesia to minimize discomfort for our patients during most cavity treatment.
Children’s Services
Our dentists, hygienists and assistants all have extensive experience working with children. Our goal is to provide quality, non-threatening service to our young patients and to equip them with the education to allow them to achieve optimum oral health and have an attractive, radiant smile for life!
We like to start seeing children at age three, before they get their first set of permanent molar teeth. We strive to make these early visits fun and informative for the children and parents, to show children that there’s no need to be afraid of the dentist and to establish a cooperative mindset for future dental care.
Our children’s office has colorfully decorated, “kid-friendly” waiting areas and treatment rooms that allow children to relax with others their age and feel comfortable among the whimsical themes and playful environments our murals depict. Children are rewarded for being good patients with stickers, pencils and tokens for the “Toy Tower.”
We perform a complete range of children’s dental services, including:
- Sealants
- Composite Fillings
- Extractions
- Space Maintainers
- Fluoride Treatment
- Pulpotomies
- Chrome-Steel Crowns
Cleanings
Regular check-ups and cleanings every six months go a long way toward preventing cavities and gum disease and eliminating other problems such as sore, bleeding gums or persistent bad breath. Our hygienists are meticulous about removing the plaque and calculus that naturally build up in the mouth over time, and will teach you how to take care of your smile at home to keep it bright and healthy! If it’s been over six months since your last check-up, call us today at 770-860-8760 to schedule a cleaning appointment.
Complete Oral Exams
A thorough exam of your teeth and gums by a dentist every six months is an essential part of maintaining a healthy smile. Not only do dentists look for the obvious problems, like cavities, but they can detect the early signs of much more serious problems such as periodontal disease and mouth and throat cancer. To provide a complete evaluation or your condition it is necessary for the dentist to review current X-rays of your teeth to identify any problems that would be undetectable by a visual exam.
When dental problems are spotted early, they are much easier to resolve quickly. Catching the problem early ultimately saves you time and money, and keeps you pain free. These preventative benefits make oral exams well worth the effort!
Crowns and Bridges
When the damage to a tooth is too extensive for a simple filling, a crown is often used. Dental crowns are porcelain or metal forms molded to the shape of your tooth and attached with adhesive. Crowns restore the appearance and function of your natural teeth, as well as keep your jaw and bite aligned, insuring that other teeth don’t shift locations or take on a greater share of the work of biting and chewing.
Dental crowns may be made of porcelain, gold or stainless steel. Porcelain crowns are the most cosmetically appealing choice since they are color-matched to the exact shade of your other teeth and porcelain has the same light-reflecting qualities and texture as tooth enamel. Gold crowns are sometimes selected for molars, since they are less noticeable further back in the mouth. Crowns made of stainless steel (often called “chrome-steel crowns”) are not designed for long-term use and are generally reserved for use on children’s primary teeth.
A bridge is a special type of dental restoration that spans the space between missing teeth. To create a bridge, the teeth on either side of the gap are crowned, and an artificial tooth (or teeth) is inserted in between. As is the case with crowns, these false teeth can be made from porcelain, gold or other materials.
Cosmetic Bonding
If you have minor problems with your smile including stained, crooked, or chipped teeth, dental bonding is a quick, easy way to make your teeth look flawless again. Dental bonding uses natural tooth-colored resins that are applied to existing teeth to hide slight cosmetic flaws or repair minor injuries. The resin is color-matched to your teeth, applied in thin layers and cured with a high-intensity light. It is sculpted to fit your tooth perfectly and finely polished to deliver the bright shine of a natural tooth.
Extractions
Teeth may need to be removed for a number of different reasons: extensive decay, advanced periodontal disease, infection, or trauma. In many cases, we are able to evaluate and treat you during the same visit. If your medical history is complex or you are taking a number of prescribed medications, we may need to discuss your medical history with you before beginning treatment. Our dentists perform both simple and surgical extractions.
- Simple Extraction – minimally invasive procedure in which the entire tooth is removed without the need for extensive excavation of surrounding gum tissue. This is the most common type of extraction for fully erupted primary or permanent teeth.
- Surgical Extraction – more involved procedure involving extensive excavation of surrounding gum tissue and often sectioning of the tooth for complete removal. This method of extraction is often necessary for partially erupted, impacted, or broken teeth.
After any extraction, we will provide you with post-operative instructions, extra gauze and prescriptions, if needed. Someone from our office will call to check on you that evening to make sure everything is okay and to answer any questions that you might have. You can expect some mild discomfort and minor swelling for a few days following surgical extractions. Most patients begin to feel better after a couple of days. Please remember that we are available after your surgery in case you have any questions or concerns.
Filling Replacement
Many adults have silver amalgam fillings that are worn out, discolored, cracked, or that they simply want to replace with more natural-looking fillings. Our dentists can replace your silver fillings with natural-looking, tooth-colored composite resins. These sophisticated resins are strong, esthetically pleasing, do not discolor over time, and have similar expansion and contraction rates to normal tooth structure. We offer local anesthesia to minimize discomfort for our patients during filling replacements.
Full Diagnostic X-rays
Our office has the capacity to take a complete series of diagnostic X-rays of your mouth to allow our dentists to identify oral problems that would be undetectable by a visual examination. We employ the use of Digital Panoramic X-ray and Digital Bitewing X-ray machines to obtain a complete picture of your teeth, gums and oral cavity.
Thanks to new digital technology, we can take X-rays of your mouth that use 90 percent less radiation that standard film X-rays. In addition, digital X-rays are immediately transmitted to a computer screen in our treatment room, so you don’t have to waste your valuable time waiting for your X-rays to be developed. Instead, you can see the images of your teeth instantly, and computer technology allows the X-rays to be enlarged, highlighted, inverted or even colorized, helping you and your dentist see hard-to-spot dental problems.
Inlays and Onlays
When more than half of your tooth’s surface is damaged or decayed, an inlay or onlay can repair your tooth and prevent loss of that tooth. Our gold inlays and onlays are custom-fitted to your tooth and bonded in place to restore normal function and preserve the strength of the tooth.
Non-Surgical Gum Therapy
Gum disease is a common dental problem among adults. Up to 80% of people suffer from some degree of gum disease at one time or another. Mild gum disease is commonly referred to as gingivitis, while severe gum disease is called periodontitis (or periodontal disease). In its earliest stages, gum disease may produce only mild symptoms – many people who have mild to moderate gum disease don’t even know they have it. As the condition progresses, symptoms become much worse, more painful, and may ultimately cause tooth loss. The good news is that periodontal disease is preventable through proper brushing and flossing and regular visits to your dentist.
Advanced stages of periodontal disease require special attention by a dentist. Our dentists can examine the pockets between your teeth and gums to determine the extent of gum disease present. If necessary, our hygienists can perform a procedure commonly called a “deep cleaning,” in which the plaque and calculus that have built up in these pockets below the gum line are removed. We provide local anesthesia during this type of cleaning for your comfort.
Common signs of periodontal disease are: bleeding gums, soreness or redness of gum tissue, swelling of gums around teeth, persistent bad breath, receding gums or loose teeth. If you have any of these symptoms, call our office at 770-860-8760 to schedule a periodontal exam.
Partial Dentures
If several teeth are missing in one arch of the mouth, our dentists may recommend partial dentures. A partial denture (often simply called a “partial”) is a removable set of artificial teeth mounted on a metal framework that is retained and supported by the underlying tissues and remaining teeth. Unlike a bridge, which is fixed in place and requires that adjacent teeth are crowned, a partial is removable and makes it unnecessary to reduce existing tooth structure. It can be inserted and removed by the patient at his or her convenience, making cleaning and future adjustments by your dentist much easier. Partial dentures also require fewer intraoral procedures than many fixed restorations, meaning fewer appointments, less time in the dental chair and cost savings for you!
Partial dentures are a great way to restore lost functions such as proper chewing and clear speech, stabilize the arch and improve the appearance of your smile.
While we do create partial dentures for our patients, our practice is not equipped to create full dentures, which are needed if all of the natural teeth in one arch are missing.
Root Canal Therapy
Severely infected or damaged teeth often require root canal therapy. This procedure allows dentists to save many teeth that would otherwise need to be pulled.
The inside of the tooth is made up of pulp tissue, which contains nerves, blood vessels and other cells. When a tooth is decayed or cracked, the pulp can become exposed to bacteria, causing inflammation and pressure on the nerves. That infection can cause tremendous pain, swelling and abscesses in the jaw.
Rather than remove the tooth, a dentist can enter the root canal of the tooth through the biting surface, remove the damaged pulp tissue, carefully clean and disinfect the inside of the tooth, seal the root canal to protect it and cover the tooth with a crown to strengthen it. This procedure stops the toothache, prevents bacteria and pain from spreading further into the jaw and preserves the original tooth, instead of replacing it with a denture or bridge.
After the root canal therapy, we will provide you with post-operative instructions, extra gauze and prescriptions, if needed. Someone from our office will call to check on you that evening to make sure everything is okay and to answer any questions that you might have. Please remember that we are available after your surgery in case you have any questions or concerns.
Sealants
Sealants are a revolutionary application that helps protect children’s teeth from decay. All molars have deep grooves on the chewing surface, which can easily trap food, promoting decay. Children start getting their first permanent molars around age six or seven, and have all of their back teeth that need to be sealed by age 13.
To “seal” a tooth, a thin, tooth-colored, liquid acrylic coating is applied to the grooves on the surface of the molar and then bonded to the tooth with a high-intensity light. The sealant alters the biting surface of the tooth just enough so that food cannot easily become trapped on the tooth surface, thus protecting the tooth from future decay. The process is simple, painless and takes only a few minutes to perform in our office. We can place sealants on your child’s back permanent teeth as they erupt, usually during their routine cleaning appointment.
Click Here for a four minute animation video discussing the basic principles of protection against the “elements” and how dental sealants are used to protect against the effects of sugary foods, caries and cavity production. Suitable for children to view. Published by www.arkansas.gov.
Teeth Whitening
Bleaching or whitening your teeth is one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to recapture that long, lost, bright smile. Teeth can become discolored with age for several reasons. Minerals, tobacco, antibiotics, certain foods, coffee and other beverages can stain teeth over time. We offer two different options for patients who want to reverse the effects of time and have a whiter, healthy-looking smile again.
Bleaching trays are customized mouthpieces made in our office from actual impressions of your teeth. You simply apply the bleaching gel we provide to the trays and wear them for a few hours each day. You choose the most convenient time and place to wear your bleaching trays.
We also sell professional strength Crest Whitestrips® for patients who do not want to have custom bleaching trays made.
The whitening process works the same with either method; stains are removed by the gentle oxygenating action of the peroxide carbamide gel. Most people require three to four weeks for their teeth to fully whiten, but notice their teeth getting whiter in just three to four days!
Many patients ask us, “Is whitening safe?” Yes, extensive research and clinical studies indicate that whitening your teeth under the supervision of a dentist is safe. In fact, many dentists consider whitening the safest cosmetic dental procedure available.
Veneers
Veneers are wafer-thin layers of custom-fitted, tooth-colored material that cover the front of the teeth. They can be used to conceal badly stained teeth and to correct misshapen, gapped, or chipped teeth. There is no need to put up with these embarrassing conditions any longer! Veneers can dramatically improve your smile with very little removal of tooth structure.
Composite Veneers: The major advantage of composite veneers is treatment time. Composite veneers can often be applied in just one visit. The tooth surface is prepared, an adhesive is applied, and the veneer is bonded to the tooth surface. It is then polished and smoothed to look and feel like your natural teeth. Composite veneers, while convenient, are not as durable as porcelain veneers, may discolor over time and require periodic inspection by a dentist.
Porcelain Veneers: Porcelain veneers usually require two or more visits to apply, but are much stronger than composite veneers and more resistant to staining. Porcelain veneers can be used in a greater variety of situations than composite veneers and the dentist has more control over their shape and color (since they are made outside of the mouth). Porcelain has the same light-reflecting qualities and texture as tooth enamel, giving porcelain veneers a very life-like appearance.
How porcelain veneers are applied:
- At your first visit, your teeth are prepared and an impression is made of them. Temporary veneers are made out of plastic and placed on your teeth to protect them while a model of your final veneers is being made.
- You can use your temporary veneers to evaluate the look and feel of your “new” teeth and review your model with a dentist, so that any changes you desire can be incorporated into your permanent veneers.
- Once you are happy with the appearance of your model, your final porcelain veneers are fabricated in a dental laboratory.
- At your final appointment, the dentist removes your temporary veneers, bonds the porcelain veneers to your teeth and blends the veneers with the remaining tooth structure, making it unnoticeable to the naked eye and completing your smile makeover!